Running with purpose! Charities raise thousands during London Marathon 2019

Runners from across the Jewish community and of all abilities took part in last Sunday’s Virgin London Marathon.

They helped raise thousands of pounds to enable various charities to continue their important work

Michele Lobl, the daughter of two Jewish Care residents took on the London Marathon to raise funds for the charity.

Lobl’s mother, Norma, 92, lives at Lady Sarah Cohen care home, while her late father Benjamin Morgenstern stayed at a home in Hendon.

Rabbi Celia Surget, of Radlett Reform Synagogue, also took part in the race, after completing last month’s Paris Marathon.

Adam Overlander-Kaye, Jewish Care’s Director of Fundraising & Community Engagement, thanked runners for helping the charity raise £20,000 for this year’s marathon. He said “Each runner has their own inspiring story about what motivated them to take on this huge challenge in support of Jewish Care”.

Rabbi Celia Surget,  Associate Rabbi at Radlett  Reform Synagogue said she was “proud and excited” to take part, adding that funds “will pay for a specialist bedroom equipment to enable care home residents to be assisted in a dignified and comfortable manner.”

World ORT runners took part in the London Marathon to raise money for the organisation’s youth centre in Kfar Silver near Ashkelon in Israel, to build a new running track, renovated gym and new equipment.

Athletics coach Yimharan Yosef who took up running at 13 and described it as “life-changing”, recorded a time of two hours and 29 seconds, placing him 69th out of the 42,000 amateur runners. World ORT CEO and general director Avi Ganon completed the run in four hours and 31 minutes.

He said: “It’s the best marathon I’ve ever done in terms of the atmosphere. It was a really nice crowd.”

Nine runners helped British Emunah, which helps at-risk children in Israel, raise £15,000. Among those taking part was Dr Gillian Gertner, 60 (pictured centre), who achieved a personal best time of four hours and 44 mins.

Other runners included brothers Marc and George Jackson, Claire Gothelf, Ben Cox, Edward Bunce, Martin Bleaken and Matt Rickard.

Blind Israeli athlete Avi Solomon, 36, from Beit Shemesh, joined 40,000 runners in the London Marathon.

Solomon, who lost his sight more than 17 years ago, completed the 26.2 mile course from Blackheath to The Mall in three hours and seven minutes with the help of his coach Daniel Ishta, Ari Goldsmith and Lior Berhano who took turns, running while connected to him at the wrist.

Joshua Bye, recorded a time of four hours and 36 minutes to raise funds for Wellbeing of Women, a women’s health charity researching new treatments that was founded in 1964.

“We are so thankful for everyone who ran the @LondonMarathon to raise money for @WellbeingofWmen,” the charity wrote on Twitter.

“Your donations will help fund groundbreaking scientific research.”

Seven runners represented residential care provider Nightingale Hammerson last weekend, helping the charity raise more than £12,500.

Nightingale Hammerson, which has served the Jewish community for 175 years, has two homes, in Clapham and Hampstead Garden Suburb, where residents receive care for dementia, respite, residential and end-of-life.

“Our seven runners did us proud and we want to say a big thank you for all their effort,” the charity wrote on Facebook.

“As ever the support around the course was fantastic, the runners were cheered along the whole route and many of them mentioned how this was a great help for them.”

Great-grandmother Flora Frank, 76, was among 15 runners who raised more than £30,000 for Norwood, which supports 4,000 vulnerable children, families and people with learning disabilities every year.

The fastest Norwood runner was Richard Rule, 53, who recorded a personal best time of three hours and 21 seconds.

Seven runners helped Kisharon raise more than £16,000, with Cherie Diamond travelling from South Africa for her first marathon.

Also a beginner, teacher Linda Lazarus recorded a time of six hours and 54 minutes, while Kosher Kingdom manager Shlomi Rokach completed it in three hours and 37 seconds.

A team of six runners raised more than £26,700 to help Chai Cancer Care to continue to support members of the Jewish community affected by a cancer diagnosis.

Among them Alexandra Rickman , completed the marathon in five hours and 21 minutes, raising more than £4,424.